Non-Markovian Dynamic Models Identify Non-Canonical KRAS-VHL Encounter Complex Conformations for Novel PROTAC Design.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is emerging as a promising therapeutic approach for cancer and other diseases, with an increasing number of programs demonstrating its efficacy in human clinical trials. One notable method for TPD is Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) that selectively degrade a protein of interest (POI) through E3-ligase induced ubiquitination followed by proteasomal degradation. PROTACs utilize a warhead-linker-ligand architecture to bring the POI (bound to the warhead) and the E3 ligase (bound to the ligand) into proximity.

Targeted Protein Degradation: Advances, Challenges, and Prospects for Computational Methods.

The therapeutic approach of targeted protein degradation (TPD) is gaining momentum due to its potentially superior effects compared with protein inhibition. Recent advancements in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors have led to the development of compounds that are currently in human trials, with some showing promising clinical results. However, the use of computational tools in TPD is still limited, as it has distinct characteristics compared with traditional computational drug design methods.

A Conserved Local Structural Motif Controls the Kinetics of PTP1B Catalysis.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a negative regulator of the insulin and leptin signaling pathways, making it a highly attractive target for the treatment of type II diabetes. For PTP1B to perform its enzymatic function, a loop referred to as the "WPD loop" must transition between open (catalytically incompetent) and closed (catalytically competent) conformations, which have both been resolved by X-ray crystallography. Although prior studies have established this transition as the rate-limiting step for catalysis, the transition mechanism for PTP1B and other PTPs has been unclear.

Molecular Latent Space Simulators for Distributed and Multimolecular Trajectories.

All atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations offer a powerful tool for molecular modeling, but the short time steps required for numerical stability of the integrator place many interesting molecular events out of reach of unbiased simulations. The popular and powerful Markov state modeling (MSM) approach can extend these time scales by stitching together multiple short discontinuous trajectories into a single long-time kinetic model but necessitates a configurational coarse-graining of the phase space that entails a loss of spatial and temporal resolution and an exponential increase in complexity for multimolecular systems. Latent space simulators (LSS) present an alternative formalism that employs a dynamical, as opposed to configurational, coarse graining comprising three back-to-back learning problems to (i) identify the molecular system's slowest dynamical processes, (ii) propagate the microscopic system dynamics within this slow subspace, and (iii) generatively reconstruct the trajectory of the system within the molecular phase space.

Modeling the Effect of Cooperativity in Ternary Complex Formation and Targeted Protein Degradation Mediated by Heterobifunctional Degraders.

Chemically induced proximity between certain endogenous enzymes and a protein of interest (POI) inside cells may cause post-translational modifications to the POI with biological consequences and potential therapeutic effects. Heterobifunctional (HBF) molecules that bind with one functional part to a target POI and with the other to an E3 ligase induce the formation of a target-HBF-E3 ternary complex, which can lead to ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of the POI. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) by HBFs offers a promising approach to modulate disease-associated proteins, especially those that are intractable using other therapeutic approaches, such as enzymatic inhibition.